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Evolthon: A community endeavor to evolve lab evolution
Sivan Kaminski Strauss1, Dvir Schirman1, Ghil Jona2
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Plos Biology
|March 30, 2019
Summary
Evolthon, a community challenge, explored experimental evolution strategies for microbes. Yeast evolved best with mating, while bacteria thrived by varying mutation rates, revealing effective evolutionary principles.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Microbiology
- Genetics
Background:
- Experimental evolution aims to understand trait development under novel conditions.
- Optimizing evolutionary strategies (e.g., mutagenesis, population size) is complex and lab-specific.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore diverse experimental evolution strategies for Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- To identify effective evolutionary regimens for adapting to low-temperature stress.
Main Methods:
- A global community challenge (Evolthon) involving ~30 participants.
- Participants evolved bacteria and yeast under various environmental and genetic conditions.
- Competitions were held between evolved strains to assess performance.
Main Results:
- Yeast evolution was significantly enhanced by incorporating mating (sexual reproduction).
- Bacterial evolution success was linked to strategies exploring different mutation rates.
- Performance and stability of evolved strains varied across different conditions.
Conclusions:
- Mating is crucial for yeast evolution, while mutation rate variation aids bacterial adaptation.
- The study reveals principles for effective experimental evolution and strain development.
- Evolthon demonstrates a successful model for collaborative scientific discovery.
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